“Fifty  thousand  young  women  and  girls  are 
lost  in  the  United  States  every  year.  They  simply 
drop  out  of  existence.’’ — THEODORE  BlNGHAM, 
former  Commissioner  of  Police,  New  York  City. 


During  one  of  the  last  three  great  expositions 
held  in  America  there  were  over  5,000  disappear- 
ances which  the  police  could  not  trace.  There 
were  nearly  as  many  at  one  of  the  others.  At  the 
Panama-Pacific  Exposition,  in  San  Francisco,  the 
Travelers’  Aid  Society  for  the  first  time  had 
quarters  on  the  Exposition  grounds  and  the  number 
of  disappearances  was  only  58. 


In  the  year  1915,  personal  assistance,  free  of 
charge,  was  given  by  the  Travelers’  Aid  Society  to 
more  than  750,000  persons  in  varying  degrees  of 
distress,  in  the  United  States  and  Canada.  A startling 
proportion  of  these  consisted  of  young  girls  standing 
on  the  brink  of  a precipice  and  unconscious  of 
their  danger. 


(2) 


WHEN  William  Powell  Frith  painted  his  once 
famous  picture  of  the  “Railway  Station,’’ 
and  delighted  the  hearts  of  the  British  pub- 
lic, which  loves,  and  has  always  loved,  anecdotal 
art,  he  heightened  the  dramatic  values  of  his  compo- 
sition by  crowding  a number  of  probable  happenings 
into  one  impossible  moment.  A young  bride  fares 
forth  on  her  wedding  journey,  a sorrowful  mother 
bids  farewell  to  her  little  son,  a criminal  is  arrested 
as  he  sets  foot  on  the  departing  train.  The  huge 
and  animated  canvas  is  now  valuable  chiefly  for  the 
correctness  of  its  costumes,  the  sedate  and  ample 
draperies  of  1862;  but,  when  we  come  to  think  of  it, 
there  is  no  such  theatre  for  human  emotions  as  a 
railway  station  in  a great  city.  If  we  waited  long 
enough,  we  might  see  the  drama  of  life  played  out 
upon  its  stage.  It  is  because  we  are  always  hurried 
or  preoccupied  that  we  pay  no  heed  to  the  tragedies, 
the  comedies,  the  pathetic  little  interludes,  which  arc 
being  enacted  before  our  careless  eyes. 

A year  ago  I saw,  as  I passed  sleepily  through  a 
gate  of  the  Pennsylvania  Station  in  Philadelphia  (1 
was  returning  from  New  York,  and  it  was  half-past 


(3) 


THE  STRANGER  WITHIN  OUR  GATES 


ten  o’clock  at  night),  two  little  girls  who  stood 
eagerly  scanning  the  long  line  of  passengers.  They 
were  so  small,  and  they  looked  so  tired,  that  I 
paused  to  see  if  anyone  they  knew  had  come  on  my 
train.  There  was  no  one,  and  they  drew  back, 
whispering  to  each  other  in  Yiddish,  and  plainly 
prepared  to  resume  their  watch.  I spoke  to  them, 
and  found  they  had  been  there  since  early  morning. 
Their  father  had  sent  them  to  meet  their  mother, 
who,  with  the  baby,  was  coming  “some  time”  from 
New  York.  I asked  why  the  father  had  not  come 
himself.  They  said  he  did  not  speak  any  English, 
he  was  “no  good.”  Their  mother  did  not  speak 
English  either.  She  would  not  know  what  to  do 
unless  they  met  her.  I asked  where  they  lived. 
Miles  away,  in  the  south-eastern  section  of  the  city. 
I asked  if  they  knew  what  cars  would  take  them 
home.  They  had  no  money  for  car-fares,  but  their 
mother  would  have  money.  It  would  be  “all  right” 
when  she  and  the  baby  came. 

I bought  some  sandwiches  for  the  poor  little  crea- 
tures— their  bodies  drooped  pitifully,  but  their  spirits 
were  unquelled — and  inquired  of  a porter  when  the 
next  train  was  due.  “In  twenty  minutes.”  I waited 
those  twenty  minutes.  The  next  train  brought  no 
mother,  no  baby,  and  no  change  in  the  children’s 
resolution.  I then  consulted  with  the  agent  of  the 
Travelers’  Aid  Society,  put  the  little  girls  in  her  care, 
and  gave  her  money  for  their  car-fare — distrusting 
the  mother’s  solvency.  She  said  the  situation  was 
not  unusual.  Immigrants  often  waited  twenty-four 


THE  STRANGER  WITHIN  OUR  GATES 


hours  for  the  arrival  of  friends  and  relatives.  But 
she  promised  that  these  children  should  not  be 
allowed  to  stay  after  midnight,  that  they  should  be 
sent  safely  home,  and  that  the  mother  and  baby,  if 
they  came,  should  be  detained  and  housed  in  the 
station  until  morning. 

It  was  a very  simple  incident,  but  fraught  with  the 
infinite  trustfulness  of  childhood,  the  infinite  patience 
of  the  poor.  There  is  no  country  in  the  world  where 
travelers  need  help  so  sorely  as  they  do  in  the  United 
States,  because  our  distances  are  so  vast,  and  night 
journeys  are  so  often  imperative.  Also  because 
many  of  the  poor  wayfarers  speak  but  a few  words  of 
English,  and  are  hopelessly  confused  and  daunted  by 
the  strangeness  of  their  surroundings.  The  hard- 
worked  railway  officials  are,  as  a rule,  courteous 
but  their  time  is  limited.  It  is  trying  to  have  a large 
family  of  Lithuanians  blocking  the  gate,  presenting 
the  wrong  tickets,  holding  back  other  passengers, 
and,  above  all,  failing  to  understand  the  vigorous 
and  highly  idiomatic  language  addressed  to  them.  A 
ticket-puncher  is  not  supposed  to  be  a philologist, 
and  he  isn’t.  But  when  I recall  the  invariable  good 
temper  with  which  Italian  officials  help  on  their  way 
the  distraught  tourists  who  wander  speechless  over 
Italy,  1 recognize  the  depth  and  breadth  of  a civili- 
zation which  has  achieved  universal  urbanity. 

For  there  is  no  older  and  no  nobler  sentiment  in 
the  world  than  solicitude  for  the  traveler.  It  goes 
back,  back,  to  the  days  when  Abraham  sat  before  his 
tent  and  entertained  angels  unaware.  It  is,  and  has 


THE  STRANGER  WITHIN  OUR  GATES 


always  been,  the  flowering  of  humanity  in  the  East. 
It  proved  its  worth  in  the  Middle  Ages,  when  hospi- 
tality blossomed  fairly  along  the  pilgrim’s  path,  and 
doors  were  set  wide  open  at  his  coming.  And  the 
survival  of  this  civilizing  influence,  of  this  most 
beautiful  tradition,  may  be  found  to-day  in  the  deter- 
mination of  conscientious  citizens  that  no  wanderer 
shall  unwittingly  come  to  grief  in  this  wide  western 
land,  that  no  hurt  shall  overtake  the  man,  no  shame 
the  woman,  who  enters  our  cities  and  our  towns. 

To  make  this  determination  far-reaching  and  prac- 
tical is  now  the  unceasing  effort  of  the  Travelers’ 
Aid  Society.  When  it  says,  and  says  truthfully,  on 
its  notices:  “No  girl  or  other  traveler  need  be 

friendless  on  arriving  in  New  York;’’  “No  girl  or 
other  traveler  need  be  friendless  on  arriving  in 
Boston; ’ ’ “No girl  or  other  traveler  need  be  friendless 
on  arriving  in  San  Francisco,’’  it  gives  to  the  world 
an  assurance  of  good  faith,  and  it  transfers  personal 
responsibility  (which  otherwise  no  one  of  us  dares 
shirk)  from  the  shoulders  of  its  subscriben  to  the 
very  capable  shoulders  of  the  Society  and  its  agents. 
If  we  will  give  the  money  (which  is  an  easy  matter) 
they  will  do  the  work, — which  is  sometimes  very 
hard.  They  will  keep  patient  watch  and  ward  over 
the  entrances  to  our  cities.  They  will  see  to  it  that 
the  poor  are  protected  from  imposition,  the  helpless 
from  disaster. 

It  is  essential  that  the  labors  of  the  Travelers’  Aid 
Society  should  be  principally  directed  to  the  saving 
of  women  and  girls  from  the  traps  which  are  too 


(61 


THE  STRANGER  WITHIN  OUR  GATES 


often  laid  for  them,  from  vicious  schemes  to  which 
their  ignorance  or  their  folly  makes  them  an  easy 
prey.  Parents  are  asked  to  commit  their  daughters 
to  the  care  of  agents  wearing  the  official  badge. 
Girls  are  warned  against  the  danger  of  asking  advice 
or  assistance  from  strangers.  In  every  town  where 
the  Society  is  represented  (and  it  should  be  re- 
presented in  every  town  of  the  Union),  there  is  some 
one  to  whom  the  traveler  may  confidently  turn  for 
help,  and  who  may  be  recognized  by  the  badge 
she  wears. 

It  is  no  new  danger  which  confronts  the  girl  who 
comes  to  seek  work  in  a strange  city.  The  first  print 
of  Hogarth’s  “Harlot’s  Progress’’  tells  us  the  pitiful 
story,  which  is  being  forever  repeated.  A comely 
country  lass  descends  with  her  bundles  from  the  stage, 
into  the  London  streets,  and  there  is  the  procuress 
ready  to  meet  and  greet  her.  When  this  pleasant,  hand- 
somely dressed  woman  chucks  the  girl  under  the  chin, 
and  smiles  broadly  at  her,  we  know  that  the  poor  simple- 
ton 's  fate  is  sealed;  and  the  remaining  prints  reveal  to 
us  only  the  inevitable  consequences  of  this  sad  en- 
counter. There  is  no  cruelty  in  the  world  like  the 
calculating  cruelty  of  the  women  and  men  who  prey 
upon  the  ignorance  of  youth.  It  is  the  plague  spot 
of  civilization,  from  which  the  Travelers’  Aid  is  doing 
its  part  to  deliver  us.  We  owe  the  moral  and  finan- 
cial support  which  will  ensure  success  to  its  labors. 

There  are  other  wayfarers,  however,  whose  needs, 
if  less  imperative  than  those  of  the  endangered  girl, 
still  cry  sharply  for  help.  There  are  sick  children 


■7) 


THE  STRANGER  WITHIN  OUR  GATES 


whose  frightened  mothers  do  not  know  what  to  do 
for  them.  There  are  lost  children  who  have  strayed 
in  some  mysterious  fashion  from  family  groups  too 
ample  to  miss  them.  There  are  children  who  expect 
to  be  met,  and  who  are  not  met.  There  are  bewil- 
dered women  looking  in  vain  for  a familiar  face. 
There  are  stolid  speechless  aliens  who,  having 
descended  from  their  train,  are  smitten  with  a palsy 
of  indecision,  and,  sitting  on  their  complicated  lug- 
gage, seem  to  be  apathetically  awaiting  the  end  of 
the  world.  There  are  excited  and  voluble  aliens 
who  want  to  go  west  on  an  east-bound  train,  or  to 
travel  five  hundred  miles  on  the  first  local  that  leaves 
the  station.  And  there  are  Americans  speaking 
intelligible  English,  but  every  whit  as  befuddled  as 
the  foreigner. 

One  such  country-woman  I saw  in  a New  England 
station,  and,  if  ever  the  agent  of  the  Travelers’  Aid 
Society  appeared  as  a beneficent  spirit,  it  must  have 
been  to  that  poor  worn-out  creature.  She  was  not 
young,  and  she  was  of  an  amazing  bulk.  Her  girth 
alone  would  have  carried  her  unscathed  through  one 
set  of  perils;  but  in  some  droll,  heartrending 
fashion,  it  added  to  her  utter  forlornness.  She  had 
come  a long  way,  and  she  had  a long  way  still  to  go. 
She  had  missed  more  connections  than  would  have 
seemed  possible  in  a single  trip,  and  she  had  to 
make,  or  miss,  other  connections  before  reaching 
her  destination.  The  dusk  of  a winter  evening  had 
drawn  on,  and  she  seemed  prostrated  by  weariness, 
and  trouble,  and  fatigue.  To  her,  the  agent  admin- 


(8> 


istered  first  a cup  of  tea,  next  a few  words  of  com- 
fort, and  finally  some  directions  too  plain  to  be  mis- 
taken. It  was  as  needful  a kindness  as  I ever  saw 
done,  and  it  is  doubtless  being  repeated  over  and 
over  again,  wherever  the  Society  receives  encour- 
agement and  support. 

In  this  fashion  we  fulfil  the  good  old  rules  which 
impose  upon  us,  as  they  imposed  upon  our  ances- 
tors, kindness  and  hospitality  to  the  traveler.  The 
complications  of  modern  life  have  closed  our  doors, 
but  they  need  not  shut  our  hearts.  The  obligation 
has  not  changed  with  changing  conditions.  We  who 
are  comfortably  housed,  whose  children  are  cared 
for,  whose  daughters  know  no  danger,  owe  some- 
thing to  the  men  and  women,  the  young  boys  and 
girls,  who,  all  the  year  round,  are  seeking  new 
homes,  fresh  work,  another  chance  in  life.  We  can 
pay  this  debt  by  seeing  to  it  that  in  New  York,  the 
great  city  of  the  Union,  and  in  all  the  lesser  cities  of 
the  Union,  the  Travelers’  Aid  Society  is  nobly  sup- 
ported, and  that  every  station  has  its  appointed  agent 
or  agents.  This  done,  our  responsibility  ends.  If 
harm  comes  to  man  or  woman,  boy  or  girl,  our 
shoulders  bear  no  burden  of  blame. 

AGNES  REPPLIER. 


(9) 


(10' 


Their  time  was  given  to  the  protection  of  travelers,  young  anii  oUl,  aga  nst  all  forms  of  imposition  and  to  the 
defeat  of  the  nefarious  designs  of  white  slavers  and  other  panderers  to  vice  and  crime,  hor  the  fust  time  at  any  great 
exposition  the  Travelers’  Aid  Society  had  headquarters  on  the  grounds.  Whereas  at  previous  expositions  ^ihere 
were  from  four  to  five  thousand  disappearances  which  the  police  could  never  trace,  at  the  I*anama-I’acific 
Exposition  there  were  hut  fifty-eight. 


TRAVELERS’  AID  SOCIETY 

OF  NEW  YORK 


What  It  Is : 

The  Travelers’  Aid  Society  is  a non-sectarian,  non- 
political,  non-commercial  protective  organization  in- 
corporated under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  York  to 
safeguard  travelers,  particularly  women  and  girls,  who, 
by  reason  of  inexperience,  ignorance,  illness,  infirmity 
or  disability,  are  in  need  of  protection  and  assistance. 

What  It  Does : 

The  Travelers’  Aid  Society  gives  advice,  informa- 
tion and  protection  to  ail  travelers  irrespective  of 
age,  race,  class,  creed  or  sex,  and  when  necessary  it 
provides  at  its  own  home,  at  465  Lexington  Avenue, 
temporary  housing  for  women  and  children  travelers. 
Its  purpose  is  to  prevent  crime,  extortion  and  wrong 
against  innocent  and  unsophisticated  travelers.  The 
Society  also  investigates  on  request  from  all  parts  of 
the  world  the  good  faith  of  the  situations  offered  to 
women  and  girls  in  New  York  City.  All  of  its  ser- 
vices are  rendered  absolutely  free  and  its  agents  are 
prohibited  from  accepting  any  gratuities. 

How  It  Does  It: 

The  women  agents  of  this  Society,  who  speak  all 
the  ordinary  foreign  languages  and  dialects,  meet  all 
through  trains  day  and  night  at  the  principal  stations 
in  the  metropolitan  district,  as  well  as  all  steamers, 
for  the  purpose  of  aiding,  protecting  or  conducting 
inexperienced  or  confused  travelers  to  their  destina- 
tions either  within  the  city  or  to  the  other  trains  and 
steamers,  or,  when  necessary,  to  the  home  of  the 
Society.  This  protection  is  followed  up  by  notifica- 
tion to  cooperating  societies  at  the  points  of  destina- 
tion of  the  travelers  so  that  they  are  met  and  taken 
care  of  at  the  end  of  their  journey. 

(11) 


Why  It  Does  It: 

Social  conditions  in  a large  city  like  New  York  and 
the  activity  and  avarice  of  those  who  flourish  by 
crime  are  such  that  advantage  is  taken  of  many  trav- 
elers by  these  agents  of  commercialized  vice.  Agents 
of  disorderly  houses,  dishonest  and  unscrupulous  men 
and  women,  travel  on  trains  and  boats  and  loiter 
along  the  highways  with  the  deliberate  purpose  of 
defrauding  or  exploiting  the  inexperienced.  Every 
year  thousands  of  young  women  come  to  the  great 
cities,  a large  proportion  of  them  looking  for  a chance 
of  honorable  livelihood.  Without  the  protection  of 
this  Society  many  of  these  would  fall  easy  prey  to 
those  unscrupulous  men  and  women. 

This  work  was  initiated  in  1885  and  its  growth  and 
development  is  shown  by  the  large  increase  in  the 
expenditures  of  the  Society  until  now  the  annual  re- 
quirement for  New  York  City  alone  is  over  $40,000. 
The  work  has  extended  from  New  York  to  136  other 
cities  throughout  the  United  States. 

How  Supported : 

The  Travelers’  Aid  Society  in  New  York  City  has 
been  supported  entirely  by  voluntary  contributions 
and  subscriptions  from  philanthropic  persons  and  or- 
ganizations, but  unfortunately  it  has  recently  sustained 
the  loss  of  its  largest  contributor.  To  maintain  the 
work  at  its  present  point  of  efficiency  its  income  will 
have  to  be  augmented  to  a very  large  extent,  and 
this  appeal  is  made  for  generous  annual  contributions 
from  those  who  recognize  the  necessity  for  this  broad 
preventive  agency. 

Contributions  may  be  sent  to  the  office  of  the 
Society,  465  Lexington  Avenue,  New  York  City. 


(12) 


TRAVELERS’  AID  SOCIETY 

465  Lexington  Ave.,  New  York  City 

Cable  Address,  “Newtas"  Telephone,  323-324  Murray  Hill 


OFnCERS 


Mr.  Gilbert  Colgate 

Cardinal  J.  M.  Farley ^ 

Bishop  David  H.  Greer... 

Hon.  Jacob  H.  Schiff. ^ 

Rev.  Dr.  Francis  Brown 

Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Schulman. 

Mr.  James  McAlpin  Pyle 

Mrs.  E.  C.  Harris 

Mr.  Orin  C.  Baker 

Mr.  Orin  C.  Baker,  Jr 


President 

Hon.  Vice-Presidents 

I* ] ice- Presidents 

Treasurer 

...Recording  Secretary 

General  Secretary 

Assistant  Secretary 


EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE 


Mr.  Rush  Taggart,  Chairman 
Miss  Emma  van  Buren,  Secretary 


Mr.  Eugene  S.  Benjamin 
Hon.  William  S.  Bennet 
Mr.  Gerald  M.  Borden 
Mr.  Gilbert  Colgate 
Rev.  Dr.  Wm.  A-  Courtney 
Mr.  Robert  J.  Cuddihy 


Mrs.  A.  H.  Evans 
Mr.  Ralph  M.  Johnson 
Mrs.  Morris  Loeb 
Mrs.  William  Church  Osborn 
Mr.  James  MrAlpin  Pyls 
Mrs.  Schuyler  N.  Warren 


DIRECTORS 


Mr.  Eugene  S.  Benjamin 
Hon.  William  S.  Bennet 
Miss  Kate  Bond 
Mr.  Gerald  M.  Borden 
Rev.  Dr.  Francis  Brown 
Rev,  Dr.  David  J.  Burrell 
Mrs.  L.  V.  B.  Cameron 
Mr.  Ward  B.  Chamberlin 
Miss  Neva  A.  Chappell 
Mr.  Gilbert  Colgate 
Rev.  Dr.  Wm.  A.  Courtney 
Mr.  Robert  J.  Cuddihy 
Mrs.  A.  H.  Evans 
Mrs.  E.  C.  Harris 
Dr.  Jeremiah  W.  Jenks 
Miss  Anna  B.  Jennings 


Mr.  Ralph  M.  Johnson 
P.ev.  Dr.  A.  Edwin  Keigwin 
Mrs.  Morris  Loeb 
Mrs.  Henry  Moskowitz 
Mr.  E.  E.  Olcotl 
Mrs.  William  Church  Osborn 
Dr.  Angenette  Parry 
Mr.  James  McAlpin  Pyle 
Mr.  Stanley  Rumbough 
Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Schulman 
M rs.  Edward  Shallow 
Mr  Rush  Taggart 
Mr.  F.  D.  Underwood 
Miss  Emma  van  Buren 
Mrs.  Schuyler  N.  Warren 
Mr.  Edward  J.  Wheeler 


This  is  the  Badge 

worn  by  the  Travelers"  Aid  Society 
workers,  who  meet  trains  and  steam- 
ers at  all  hours  cf  the  day  and  night, 
ready  to  help  those  in  danger  or 
trouble  and  to  do  it  without  charge. 


ae 


